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Puglia Case Study

Commuter grind to Puglia unwind

Simon Greenwood and Charlotte Senior decided to make the move overseas and out of the London’s commuter Rat Race in their twenties. BuyAssociation.co.uk Property Editor Paul Collins talks to the couple about their new life in Italy’s south.

Introduction

For most couples in their twenties in London, the thought of moving out of the country to a slower pace of life and a reduction in stress is not something they feel they are able to do – and many feel they are not yet ready to leave the city lifestyle. One couple found themselves forced into making changes to their lifestyle initially, and decided to seize the opportunity to make a move overseas.

Like most people their age, Charlotte and Simon were busy making their way in their chosen careers in London, along with all of the other parts of life in London that go along with that – commuting, socializing, and at the same time trying to save money for their ideal property in the UK. After a time, even though both were enjoying successful media careers, they became aware that they weren’t completely happy with the stress and commuting.

Making the move

In fact, Charlotte began suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome and Simon was less than happy with the feeling of being in the London Rat Race. The time seemed right to look at living overseas – the couple were both ready for a change of pace and making a move overseas before settling down and starting a family made sense.

With a good deal of research and a list of the things that they both wanted from their new place to live, they started on their search for a new life abroad. After consideration, the couple settled on Puglia as the place to start looking. “We chose Puglia because it fit our requirements for a coastal location with a great climate. It was also useful that Simon already had a good grasp of Italian,” says Charlotte. “The final reason that appealed was the fact that after some research it became clear that the region was very 'up and coming' and would therefore be a good place in which to invest and also to start a business.”

Making the initial move out to Italy, Simon and Charlotte decided to make their home in a local B&B and begin their search for their perfect property from there. When you spend time in a country, especially a significant amount of time like this, it is amazing the amount of properties that you can get around to view. This makes it all the more impressive that Simon and Charlotte didn’t give up on their dream even when it took longer than expected to find somewhere to buy.

After six months of living in the B&B, they still didn’t have a property in which to settle down, and began to worry about what they were going to do. The solution came about in their friendship with the owner of the B&B, Alfonso Carbotta, and with it the idea for the business they now run.

Lessons put into practice

The couple are in little doubt about the importance of getting to know people in the local area, and used this as the main philosophy in their new business. “It was actually key. We had been having little success carrying out the househunt on our own with no contacts and no experience. We had happened to form a great bond with Alfonso Carbotta and it was through a friend of his that we were shown the property we eventually bought.”

The property search taught Simon and Charlotte a lot about the property market in this part of Italy, but also gave them a real insight into how the lifestyle they craved permeated through to the local property market. “We were looking forward to a more laidback lifestyle generally, but we made the mistake of not realising that the same ethic would also apply to the property market,” says Charlotte.

The lessons they learned, as well as the experience of working closely with Alfonso, prompted them to set up A Life in Puglia, advising people on buying in this new and emerging region of Italy. Simon was sure of the business philosophy when he and Charlotte finally found the property of their dreams. “We’ve learned a lot about what not to do and are able to help our clients avoid the same mistakes,” explains Simon, who used to work in publishing. “We have the useful combination of being English, and able to relate to other Brits’ concerns, in addition to the invaluable benefit of a well-connected Italian — we found Alfonso’s help so essential that we have asked him to become a business partner and advise our clients.”

More pages

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Related Articles

• Buying a Property in Italy
• Puglia (Apulia or Le Puglie)
• Glossary – Italian Property Terms

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